


Winter Magic

by TheWritingSquid



Series: Disaster Dad [5]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: DMC Gen Week, Dadgil, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Snow Day, Toddler!Nero, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-25 14:50:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20027617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWritingSquid/pseuds/TheWritingSquid
Summary: Winter has arrived, and Nero witnesses snow for the first time of his life. It's up to the twins to show him the best winter traditions.





	Winter Magic

**Author's Note:**

> New Disaster Dad fic for DMC Gen Week Day 4 - Protection/Smile . Semi on-prompt I guess but those words are definitely in there hahaha. 
> 
> There is a slight reference to the ongoing camping fic (Disaster Dad Part 2) in this one. Nothing really spoilery, but I'm putting out a bonus update tomorrow (Thursday Aug 1) and it happens there, if you'd rather wait.

The world outside had turned white.

Snow had started falling from the sky late during the night, and they’d awakened to a city blanketed in it and fairytale flakes still drifting to the ground. Nero’s eyes had gone big and wide, his gasp had echoed through the house, and he’d come running to Vergil, tugging at his pants with bright eyes. 

“Da’! Look, Da’!”

Vergil looked up from the minuscule pants he’d been desperately attempting to sew, poking more holes into his fingers than making any headway on fixing the tear in Nero’s clothes. “Yes, Nero. It snowed.”

“S-Snow?” He pulled himself up on the couch, climbing into Vergil’s lap and forcing the pants away. Vergil huffed and set them aside. He’d hoped to be finished before Nero came running out screaming for attention, but he would have no such luck. Perhaps later today, during the nap. Nero set his two tiny hands against Vergil’s chest and stared into his eyes. “I wanna see snow!”

“After breakfast, Nero.”

“But--”

“Nero.” Vergil used his warning tone. Whenever he allowed Nero to break his routines, he found himself fighting with him over the simplest things. It was easier when they followed known paths, in which what ought to happen was well accepted by them both. “I understand you are excited, but we must eat first.”

Nero pouted and crossed his arms, sitting back with such impetus he almost fell off. Vergil caught him before he could stumble out of his lap, then lifted his tiny bundle of energy up. They went through the morning routine pretty fast, Vergil successfully getting Nero to both eat, brush his teeth, pee, _ and _clean his hands without the slightest protest--a miracle in itself, and proof his toddler had only one thing in mind: going out.

That was fine with Vergil. For once, he was _ ready_. He had everything needed to protect Nero from the snow, and he couldn’t wait to see his smiles once they got outside.

He had brought Nero to the shopping center a week ago and they had browsed the kid’s section together. To his great pleasure, many of the winter gear available tended to be in blue, from darker shades to paler ones. Vergil had gone through the racks of tiny coats, picking out several options, then showed them to a wide-eyed Nero. The winner was instantaneous: a thick snowsuit with a hoodie, designed with fake teeth near the opening, and with the hood itself resembling fish tail with a shark fin on top. Nero had pointed it, promptly declared “I am fish!”, and that was the end of the matter. They had found a white tuque and mitts to match, and while shopping Vergil had wound up in front of three matching turtlenecks: two adult-sized in wine red and indigo, and one child-sized in purple. He did not resist.

By the time they were ready to prepare to go out, Nero was practically vibrating. He ran and jumped around the house, exuding energy, and Vergil paused midway through unpacking every piece of clothing he’d need to somehow put on his excited little monster, the red turtleneck in his hand. With a sigh, he set it down, crossed his flat, and picked up the phone. The other line rang on and on, until a sleepy voice mumbled with obvious irritation.

“Devil May Cry.”

“It snowed, Dante,” Vergil said, foregoing any pointless salutations. “This is our first snow. I will be with Nero at the park. If you arrive before I’m done bundling him up, you can join us.”

“M’what?” Clearly, Dante’s brain had not awakened yet. “Snow? It snowed?”

“Yes. Just come. I won’t offer twice.”

He hung up the phone and found Nero staring up at him, his eyes wide. “Zio Dante?”

“I think he’ll want to see the snow, too, Nero.”

This earned him a gigantic smile, and Vergil's heart fluttered in his chest, leaving him warm and soft and utterly at a loss for words. He had long since concluded Nero's demon powers resided in that bright smile, baby blue eyes shining from his intense bursts of joy; what else could explain how he bewitched them all? And as time passed and they slowly learned their way around one another, the grins once reserved for his zio found their way to Vergil more and more often. He smiled back, his fingers gently brushing through Nero's fluffy hair, pushing the long bangs aside--they would need to cut those, soon.

“Let’s get you ready, shall we?”

The process started in the bedroom, with Vergil slipping on his own loose cotton pants and the brand new turtleneck while Nero struggled out of his PJs. They had practiced getting dressed over the last few weeks, and while Nero still struggled to put anything but elastic pants and socks on, he was quite capable of removing everything on his own--an occasional issue, considering his love for running around half-naked and the increasingly chill weather.

Vergil helped him into a thin undershirt first, pulling it overhead and into his arms, before ordering Nero to pull it down. He grabbed the clothes and executed himself with great enthusiasm, before stretching out his arms as soon as he saw Vergil holding the purple turtleneck. When he was in a good mood, Nero tended to remember the steps of dressing up quite well and eagerly prepare himself for each, to Vergil's constant delight. He did not properly understand the undiluted surge of joy this provoked in him, how proud it made him to watch Nero accomplish the simplest tasks, but that was all part of the spell, wasn't it? He could only hope that particular enchantment never broke.

Together, they got Nero into his own cotton pants and turtleneck combo, then moved to the entrance, where Vergil unfolded the shark snowsuit. Nero clapped his hands with glee as he unzipped it, and Vergil had to ask him twice to sit down before he actually obeyed. Even so, he kept kicking his legs in excitement, which flung the pants away almost as soon as Vergil had managed to get a leg on.

"Calm down, Nero, or there won't be snow at all."

That got through, but it only earned him a forceful _ "Snow!" _ and an angry pout, Nero crossing his arms and glaring at him. Vergil pressed his lips tight to avoid smiling; Dante had gleefully pointed out this particular expression on the child, and how very like his demon dad it was. Ever since, it had become one of Vergil's favourite, even if it often meant he and Nero were about to fight. This time, at least, it simply meant Nero had stopped squirming around so much and could more easily be dressed, first the bottom half, and then the top. He was zipping the suit up when Dante knocked on the door and let himself in.

Nero scrambled up, tearing away from Vergil before he was done, and ran towards his uncle with a gleeful exclamation, every tiny step producing a _ swish _ as his suit's legs rubbed together. Dante scooped him up with a grin, bringing Nero at eye-level to look him over.

"You're a shark!" he exclaimed. "Danger monster right there, all right."

Nero's head bobbed in an excited nod. "I am fish!"

Unlike Nero, Dante was entirely unprepared for a day in the snow. He hadn't even bothered with a t-shirt under his red coat, no doubt throwing it on and leaving his place seconds after rolling out of bed, if the state of his hair was any indication. He had no scarf, no gloves, no hat--nothing to offer any protection.

"Don't tell me you planned to go out in this," Vergil said, all too aware he already knew the answer.

"Why not? S'not like I feel the cold."

Neither of them had ever been particularly sensitive to temperature changes and as children, they would run out in shorts even on the coldest winter days, to their mother's greatest dismay, but Dante's wellbeing was quite beside the point here. 

"I aspire to be as conspicuous as possible in public areas, and your prancing around bare-chested is certain to draw undue attention to ourselves. Furthermore… we both know Nero learns by example, and he's already been sick once this season." Vergil knelt down, searching through their shopping bags for the last turtleneck. Once he'd found it, he stood straight back up, snapping it open for Dante to see. "Put this on, at least. I have spare gloves."

"That's a turtleneck, bro," Dante stated with a quick laugh and widening grin. "Ya don't expect me to…" He trailed off, his gaze settling on Vergil's own neck and sweeping up his outfit. "Wait. Why d'ya have a matchin' one? Did you…"

It had been an impulsive decision, born from amusement at the coincidence of these existing, but Vergil had not given thought to Dante's reaction upon being asked to wear his part of the set. Thus, he was entirely unprepared for the disbelief in his tone or the gentleness coating it. Vergil cleared his throat, his cheeks burning and no doubt creeping towards a colour to match Dante's gift.

"They were a set, and, well…" He sniffed and tilted his chin up, fighting off his embarrassment at being caught making such a pointless and sentimental decision. "Unzip Nero's suit."

Dante couldn't get it to go down with one hand, so he set Nero down to pull the zipper to his waist. His eyes widened as they caught the third turtleneck and he gasped. "There's _ three_. Like--like we’re a tiny…"

He didn't finish the thought. In one fluid movement, he was standing again, positively pouncing on Vergil to snatch the turtleneck out of his hands before wrapping him in a sudden, tight hug. Vergil froze, arms still extended, his entire body tense under Dante's embrace, his mind entirely unconvinced this happening at all. He could not remember the last time this had happened. To think it was over _ a turtleneck _ , of all things! He cleared his throat, and the small sound seemed to snap Dante out of his strange mood; he withdrew, hands trailing on Vergil's shoulders, blue eyes a little _ too _ shiny.

"Are you quite all right, Dante?" Despite his best efforts to keep his tone cool and snide, a measure of roughness slid into it. He had to admit, he was quite shaken by this sudden show of gratitude.

Dante laughed, his smile wet but honest. "Must be the early hour or som'thing! Anyway, huh?" Dante removed his hands from Vergil's shoulders, whose chest tightened as soon as their warmth was gone. "Gonna go put the family turtleneck on!"

He spun it around his fingers before chucking off his coat, unceremoniously dumping it on the ground, and slipping into the red wine turtleneck. The fabric clung to his skin, more revealing than the loose t-shirts he often preferred despite its thickness, but certainly less so than his unfathomable love of foregoing any top at all. It was quite a strange look on him, almost too cozy, yet Vergil couldn’t help but smile as Dante turned to Nero, pointed to all three of them, and declared.

“Now we match! Let’s hit the snow!”

“Not so fast,” Vergil protested, rolling his eyes as he once more had to play the responsible, level-headed one. “Take these, Dante.”

He plunged into his closet until he found a pair of gloves, then flung it into his brother’s face before returning his attention to Nero. Vergil helped him pull his tiny boots on then pulled the suit’s pants over it before working his hands into the mitts. Soon enough, there was only the tuque left, and he let Nero himself pull that one down before tucking his bangs under it, freeing his eyes. Only one step left: slowly, unable to contain his own smile, Vergil pulled the shark hoodie over the hat and secured it there, its tiny teeth a crown over Nero's forehead. It had to be hot under all those layers, but at least he wouldn’t get sick again. He grabbed earmuffs for himself, a long white scarf and a pair of matching mittens, and then they were ready to head out, two mostly underdressed adults and a tiny bundle of warmth.

###

** **

Nero loved snow.

He also had no fucking clue what it was, clearly. When they got to the park, Vergil finally set him down next to a wide area blanketed in white, and Nero immediately sprinted into the two inches of snow with a gleeful scream. He threw himself on his knees, gathering sticky snow in his hands, then promptly shoved it into his face despite his father's alarmed "Nero!". Whatever he'd been expecting can't have been cold wet shit, cause he gasped and scrambled back, rubbing at his face with his tiny mitts.

"È freddo!" he declared, spinning around to stare at Vergil with the most betrayed expression.

Dante had to cover his mouth not to burst out laughing. Vergil sensed his mirth and glared at him, as if daring to mock his tiny son.

"Of course it's cold, Nero. It's snow."

"S-snow?" Nero crunched up more in his hands and let it fall. 

"Yeah buddy! Falls from the sky when it gets cold."

His eyes widened and he craned his head back so much his shark tail trailed on the ground. "From the sky?"

"Yeah, like rain! But not rain." Dante wasn't sure what else to say. Explaining shit wasn't exactly his best skill. "Ya didn't get snow in Fortuna, did ya, kid?"

"Oh…" Vergil's voice trailed off and he pinched the bridge of his nose, his brow furrowing. 

Dante's mouth fell open and he whirled around. Had he not told him anything? Shit, no wonder Nero was so confused and surprised. "Seriously Vergil?" And _ he _was supposed to be the idiot one. "Ya didn't think of that?"

"It was early," he protested mildly, as if he hadn't jolted Dante out of his bed explicitly for this once-in-a-lifetime snow event. 

Before he could add anything, a tiny snowball smashed into his cheek, exploding on impact. They both whirled towards Nero, who stared with big wide eyes, guilt written all over his face, and hid his hands behind his back. This time, there was no holding back Dante's booming laugh while Vergil touched his cheek, too stunned to react. 

"Ya got a good arm, kid!" Dante exclaimed

It drew a thin smile out of him. He was still staring at Vergil, though, stiff and tense (like he was expecting a scolding, and damn, Dante hoped these two weren't having problems again). He ribbed Vergil, snapping him out of his daze and earning himself a deep glare. When his brother spoke, however, he was addressing his son.

“Please don’t throw snowballs, Nero. You’ll give your zio ideas.”

Dante met his gaze, still grinning. “Like I needed his help for that.”

“Don’t you dare--” Vergil started, only to be interrupted by a second snowball. 

This time Nero didn’t hide his hands. He was, in fact, holding another ammunition and staring them down, as if he could be even remotely menacing with his puffy cheeks and cute little suit.

“I wanna know snow!” he declared with an indignant huff.

“Damn, but he gets more like you every day,” Dante remarked. 

He’d expected a glare for that, but instead Vergil’s entire body mellowed, like he couldn’t imagine a more wonderful thing. “As he should,” he said, not even bothering to hide his pride as he moved to Nero’s side and crouched down.

“Snow is water, Nero.”

Nero scowled at him. “Is not. Water is…” He gestured with his hands, like a little wave. 

“Not always.” Vergil scooped up snow and showed it to Nero, palm upward, the sticky chunks in his hands. “When it gets cold, water forms crystals and becomes solid. Ice and snow are a manifestation of that.”

“Ice… is… snow? And water?” It wasn’t hard to hear the confusion in his voice, or read it in how his brow furrowed and he pouted. Poor Nero. Vergil wasn’t making this easy on him.

“Absolutely,” Vergil said, beaming at him and standing up like that settled the matter, completely missing the obvious cues Nero was giving him. “They are all the same.” 

Dante kinda wanted to laugh at his obliviousness, but the stricken look on the kid kept his mirth at bay. “Water’s cool, kiddo. It changes shape like we do, between human and demon. Snow’s what it does when it falls from the sky and it’s cold, that way it doesn’t hurt itself hitting the ground. It makes itself fluffier, like you in your snowsuit.”

Vergil whirled towards him, and Dante knew he was in for a scolding because of the lie, but then Nero let out a long “Oooooooh, it’s fluffy water!” and let himself flop down into the snow, smiling. Staring at the sky, he asked, “Why is rain not fluffy?”

Welp. Good question, kiddo. Dante clacked his tongue and, having no clue how to answer, he turned towards Vergil. His twin only raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, as clear a ‘you’re on your own’ as he could make without saying it out loud. Shit. 

“It’s, well, huh… I dunno kid. Guess it hurts less to fall when it’s warm.” Vergil rolled his eyes, but that seemed to satisfy Nero. Dante decided it might be best to move on before he could think of another trap question like that. "Ya know what's also great with snow? Days like today, it gets sticky and ya can do the coolest shit with it. Like the snowballs ya threw your dad, but also…"

He plopped his ass down in the snow and started rolling a little ball, gathering up more and more of it. Nero followed his movements until the ball was about half as tall as him, then he ran to it and set his hands against the packed snow. “I push!”

“Awesome! We gonna need more of ‘em, though, so you can roll this one, and I’ll start another.” 

“Then I will fetch the required implements to complete our creation,” Vergil declared. “Dante, I entrust Nero’s safety to you for the moment.”

Then he was gone, hurrying back into the apartment. Nero watched him go with a slight frown, hands on the ball as his eyes trailed his father, so Dante patted his hoodie. “Don’t ya worry, bud. He’ll be back in no time. We’re just missin’ a few things to build the best snowman ever!”

“A… snowman?”

“Yea! You’ll see.” He wasn’t launching himself into any more explaining, not the way Nero came up with all those hard questions. “Now get pushin’!”

He gently shoved the kid’s back, and that set him back to work. Dante couldn’t help but watch him for a moment, grinning as his tiny boots stomped into the snow, hands firm around the growing ball of snow, his shark hoodie bobbing with every step. Nero had been with him for months now, but some days he still caught himself watching the kid like he was some sort of dream. Nero had dropped into their lives and turned them completely upside-down, and Dante thanked the stars every day for the change.

His fingers reached for the fabric around his neck. Damn but the turtleneck felt itchy, like it half wanted to strangle him (well, it was a gift from Vergil, and Vergil did often daydream of exactly that). Dante still couldn’t believe he had one at all. His brother--_ Vergil_, Mister Cold and Pragmatic himself--had allowed himself the sentimentality of a matching set. Discounting his blubbering poetry around the campfire, Vergil had remained stingy with any marks of affection for Dante, acknowledging his presence in the family only through the rare comments. He cared--he’d saved him from that poison, after all--but he clearly had a no-show policy. The turtleneck had shattered it, and this time, there was no near-death experience and no alcohol to justify it. Vergil simply loved him, the idiot, and he was growing soft enough to show it. And just for that, Dante kinda wanted to wear the turtleneck every damn day of his life.

Gosh. He was getting sentimental too, now. Must be Nero affecting them all. Dante shook himself up and set to work, starting his own big ball of snow. Vergil returned with haste, carrying a carrot, a bucket of stones, and several branches with him. He set them down in a corner, surveyed their area, then headed to a zone with a fair amount of snow still and started the third missing ball. It grew in size at an impressive pace, and soon enough matched Dante’s own snowball--then Dante caught his twin glancing his way and smirking.

Oh, the little jerk was trying to have the bigger one, was he?

Dante shot a grin at his brother and started rolling harder and faster, pushing out of the areas half consumed by Nero’s much tinier snowball. Vergil responded in kind, and they kept going, rolling and rolling and rolling until the snowballs reached their chests and no snow was left in their area of the park at all. Nero stared at the two huge balls, long since done with his, his mouth a perfect little ‘o’. Dante and Vergil rolled each of theirs next to one another, then stood in front. 

“Mine’s bigger,” Dante said--it had a few inches more, in part because he’d made it slimmer.

Vergil’s eyebrows arched, and a blue blade briefly shimmered into existence, slicing the top of Dante’s.

“Hey! You can’t just--”

“Bigger goes at the bottom, Dante,” Vergil retorted, his tone the very picture of calm, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He turned to Nero. “Are you ready?”

At his enthusiastic nod, they set to building the snowman, the twins lifting Vergil’s ridiculously heavy snowball and heaving it up on top of Dante’s. Vergil picked up Nero and showed him how to use more snow to solidify the joint, taking what they could from the part he’d sliced of Dante’s snowball. Then they retrieved Nero’s ball, and the little bud managed to keep it in his arms while Vergil lifted him all the way to the top of their 10-foot-tall snowman, climbing halfway up himself. 

It was an utterly ridiculous sight, the two body snowballs way too wide compared to Nero’s head, and Dante couldn’t help but burst into laughter as he witnessed it. Vergil glared at him--Nero, clearly, found the whole thing amazing anyway. 

“He could use a lil’ trimming, brother,” Dante commented. 

Vergil huffed, then cast his gaze around. There wasn’t a single person in sight--hopefully they all had boring day jobs to keep them busy. His twin must have reached a similar conclusion, because Dante felt the characteristic shift in the air as he unfurled his powers. Time stuttered, a flick in his mind that Dante’s inner demon longed to follow, then snow exploded outward from the snowman, sliced through in several areas, leaving it slimmer, smaller, and much more rounder. Nero squealed with glee as part of it showered him, and Vergil exhaled slowly, quickly erasing the signs of exertion from his face. Must have gone all in with the summoned blade, without the Yamato at his waist.

“Will that be sufficient?” he asked Dante, eyebrows raised in challenge. 

Dante barked a quick laugh. “Ya think? At least Nero can see the top now.”

Nero was, in fact, trying very hard to climb the lower snowball, which despite its recent trim was still much too tall for the little bud. Dante lifted him up, placing him atop the lower tier and earning himself the biggest of grin. Judging by the warm fuzzies it provoked in his chest, Dante would’ve stayed hot and safe even if he did feel the cold just from this kiddo’s smiles.

They let him stick the arms in, helping only a little when he couldn’t get them through the very packed snow, then Vergil handed his son several rocks and once more held him up as Nero placed eyes and a (very wavery, hilariously bad, but ultimately cute) smile on his face. Dante handed them the carrot, which he triumphantly planted, and then they all stepped back to admire their handiwork.

“There ya go, Nero! That’s a snowman.”

Even in his father’s arms, Nero had to crane his neck to look at the face on top. “It’s big,” he declared, his tone solemn, as if he was uttering a deep truth about life.

“It certainly is,” Vergil confirmed. “And now we have no snow left to play with.”

He wasn’t wrong. They’d used up most of the snow in the area in their contest, wiping the park clean of the inch or so that had fallen from the sky.

“Oh.” Nero pouted, pushing himself back to look at his father. “I like snow. I want more!”

Vergil met his gaze and gently booped his nose. “I’m afraid only the weather decides when we will have more, Nero. Winters here offer plenty of such opportunities, however.”

This earned him big wide eyes full of wonders. “A lot of snow?”

Dante snorted. “So much we won’t see the grass for months, kid.”

Nero squealed, the sound of pure joy enough to make up for the gradual disappearance of long days and summer nights. When he clapped his mitted hands, however, they gave a wet flap that got Vergil frowning. He pinched them, then the rest of the suit, his brow furrowing ever deeper. The suit _ had _taken a much deeper colour, and it occurred to Dante Nero might be soaking wet under it.

“Perhaps we ought to return inside,” Vergil started, and when it wiped the happy grin off his son’s face, he hastily added, “to experience another winter tradition, of course. Of, hum…” 

He cast his gaze about, and met Dante’s, a clear plea for help in his eyes. Dante smirked right back--he knew just the thing. “Hot chocolates! All right, bro, that’s just perfect! No winter day’s ever complete without kickin’ back with hot chocolates and tiny marshmallows!”

“Marshmallows!” Nero repeated, wriggling in Vergil’s arms from excitement. 

“Ya heard me, kiddo.” Dante grinned at him. “And ya know what marshmallows are, right? Ya remember that from camping?”

“Life!” Nero declared, throwing his arms up proudly. 

Dante laughed and raised his hand, palm outward. It had taken Nero a few times to understand that meant he wanted it clapped into a high fives, but now he loved to hit Dante’s palm as hard as he could. He stretched out, forcing Vergil to step closer, and slapped his wet little mitten in his zio’s hand.

While he did that, Vergil slipped a bill in his other hand. “For the necessary groceries and _ nothing else _, Dante. I will get him into dry clothes.”

Actual money from his brother. If _ that _wasn’t another proof Vergil was growing soft and trusting on him, Dante didn’t know what else. He folded it deftly, stuffing it in his pockets with a grin. “Of course. Nothing that wouldn’t go into a hot chocolate!”

He’d bet there were a lot of things that could arguably go into one and that Vergil wouldn’t approve of, but there was no need to tell him that. Although, judging by the glare he received and Vergil’s low _ “Dante…” _, his twin was totally onto him. Oopsie. Dante waved at him, already skipping away from the pair before Vergil could give him an actual list to respect.

“See ya in a tick, brother!”

** **

###

** **

Dante returned with enough sugar to get Nero high for hours on end--which, if Vergil was honest with himself, had been extremely predictable. His grocery bag contained hot cocoa powder and milk, which had been the intended purchases, but also tiny marshmallows, actual chocolate chunks to melt at the bottom of the cup, whipped cream, chocolate-mint sticks, cinnamon powder, and a bottle of snowflake sprinkles to put on top. At least there was no pizza. 

Nero had been completely soaked through, so Vergil had reluctantly gotten him out of his adorable turtleneck and into a warm sweater with ghosts on it--an obsession he’d developed through his most recent book, and for which Vergil had found himself raiding party-themed shops which still held their discount Halloween decorations. They were halfway through rereading it by the time Dante entered, but Vergil had no illusions about finishing the read later on. The more Nero drank of his hot chocolate, producing tiny sounds of happiness his father would cherish forever, the more he wiggled in his chair and vibrated with energy. 

Today wasn’t Spardaghetti Day. It wasn’t any of Dante’s usual times. Yet it was clear his twin would not be leaving anytime soon, and for once Vergil did not feel any particular urges to be left alone and spared his habitual foolery. That particular desire had grown less and less frequent over time. One could get used to just about anything, it seemed, including his brother’s antics. No doubt he had Nero’s magic to blame for this one, too. Nevermind that it was Vergil who had invited him over, Vergil who had bought him his own matching turtleneck, Vergil who had trusted him with grocery shopping… 

As he collected the empty mugs and began cleaning after the messy preparation of their monster sugar rush, Vergil watched Dante and Nero brawl once more on his floor, laughing brightly as the former tried to defend himself from the latter’s black marker, shirtless once more. Whatever spell Nero had laid on him, Vergil found he had no desire to break it.

**Author's Note:**

> Next one is CHRISTMAS FLUFF. And Christmas Angst. Both, of course. XD


End file.
